Around The Internets

Here's a couple of sites I've been getting some giggles off of:

You Suck at Craigslist - Every time I go to this site I laugh at something and then weep at the sorry state of our education system.

There, I Fixed It: Epic Kludges and Jury Rigs - Everyday people using every day items to make sometimes brilliant, sometimes hilarious repairs and inventions.

Stuyvesant Town's Lux Living - A site only locals might appreciate. All about the trials and tribulations of a secret city oasis that has been taken over by a faceless conglomerate and run into the ground.

Look at this fucking hipster - Hilarious!

Dlisted - Obviously not new, but I just started reading regularly and I love the "no prisoners, no boundaries" writing style.

I will more than likely post through the weekend but in case I'm not around, these should keep you busy. Enjoy!

Vogue Evolution On America's Best Dance Crew

America's Best Dance Crew is one of those MTV shows that I tend to watch in blocks by myself whenever I'm having a lazy Saturday afternoon. Because it's a little embarrassing to admit I kind of love it. The fourth season starts on Sunday, August 9 and will feature an openly gay group with some serious ties to the NYC ball culture.



I have no idea how this particular out, proud and in your face crew will be accepted on the ABDC stage, nor how well they will score considering judge Shane (Y'all) Sparks (Y'all) has a reputation as a bit of a homophobic asshole. Along with a rudimentary command of y'alls English. But of particular interest is Vogue Evolution crew member Leyomi Mizrahi from the House of Mizrahi. Here's another You Tube clip of Leyomi in a battle with one Kassandra Ebony. Check the :30 second mark when Mz. Leyomi (red wig) unleashes a "Matrix dip" that gets the children screaming and all but ends the contest.

Schwarzenegger Kills California HIV Patients

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger used his line-item veto on his state budget and decimated California HIV/AIDS services. The cuts curtailed state funding for HIV-related education (an 80% cut), prevention (80% cut), counseling (70% cut), testing (70%), primary medical care (50%), home care (50%) and housing (20%). Most shocking of all was a complete termination of all funding for the Office of AIDS' Therapeutic Monitoring Program.

This is the program that pays for viral-load and drug resistance testing for up to 35,000 working and middle-class California HIV/AIDS patients. Viral load testing is a vital part of HIV treatment and care. Your viral load test confirms that your HIV meds are working, and regular testing is an early warning system when and if they stop. Drug resistance testing is done right after your HIV diagnosis, and determines what treatments your body will/will not respond to. Drug resistance testing is also used if your treatment meds fail in order to determine which drugs need to be replaced.

According to Office of AIDS Chief Michelle Roland the Theraputic Monitoring Program is only 50% funded by the state, so people will still have some access. But that access will be diminished and harder to find. People with treatment failure may not find out about it until they are ill, and the chances of somebody with an active viral load transmitting the virus are increased.

"A population that is less successfully virally suppressed is more likely to transmit. We may see an increase in the HIV rate as a result."

Roland also said the massive reduction in funding for ordinary HIV testing (to see if one has the virus) means "there will be fewer people who know their status," which also will increase HIV transmission.

According to the LA AIDS Healthcare Foundation "Each new infection can mean up to $600,000 dollars in lifetime health care costs."

So you have to wonder, where the hell is the sense in saving $8 million today, when the potential cost is far, far greater in the future? Monetary considerations aside, this outrageously callous decision will more than likely cause many Californians (and other Americans) to fall ill and possibly die.

Nice move, Arnold.

Hey, What's In Yer Blood?

T-Cells, apparently. And quite a few of the little fuckers, as my current T-Cell count clocked in at 1190, with an undetectable viral load. Which of course is very very good news for my continued existence. You are either happy about that statement or indifferent.

Also the iron supplements I take are doing their job as I am not anemic. My liver, kidneys and blood sugar levels are all normal. And while my total cholesterol is just slightly high, my HDL/LDL numbers ("good" versus "bad") cholesterol put me at, and I quote, "below average risk" for any heart problems. You'll be happy to know I do not have tuberculosis.

Most exciting news of the entire visit was my weigh-in. I lost almost 10 lbs. And since I would like to lose about 5 more, that celebratory dish of ice cream before bed last night is officially a once a week treat for now.

From My Cell Phone Cam

These giant daisies were being installed last week along the pedestrian plaza next to Madison Square Park on 23rd St. They are actually solar power collectors (you can see the panels if you circle round the back) so not only can you sit and enjoy a leisurely lunch, you can also plug in and recharge your tech goodies or find some dirty boy on Manhunt that's in a nearby building and needs a quick BJ.

For those that don't know/don't live here the city has basically created (read: plopped down) a bunch of pedestrian plaza's right in the middle of previously busy stretches of road in 3 different spots in or near midtown. They are a huge hit with the tourists (particularly the one in Times Square) and also with the lunchtime business crowd. But I know it's just a matter of time before a taxi or bus crashes wildly out of control and 86's some Milwaukee grandma in town to see a show. You read it here first.

On a lighter note, a ferocious storm blew in to town last night, with extremely high winds, wicked-cool lightning and rain that was falling alternately in sheets or horizontally. I was along the water on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River and got to enjoy the show in safety. Right after the worst of it was over, we were treated to this rainbow which seems to indicate there's a pot of gold to be had somewhere near the South Ferry terminal. I wish I had my regular camera as the rainbow was really quite beautiful.

Watch The Fishies

While I busy myself earning a substandard wage.

I Pollinated, Therefore I Am

Thanks to a hot tip from commenter Stephanie I discovered that tomato plants, while technically self-pollinating, are in reality, not so much. Apparently, the decided lack of bees inside my apartment means that the chances that any of the flowers that I've seen blossom on my tomato plant turning in to actual, edible tomatoes were slim at best. The single tomato I did manage to grow was more a happy accident, a triumph of nature if you will. However, in my (admittedly quick) research in to pollinating tomato plants (since I'm not a bee), I discovered a video that seems to recommend a simple if vigorous shake will do the trick. Failing that they recommend the annoying high school throwback finger-flick of the flowering bud as being equally effective. I gleefully spent a couple seconds this afternoon flick-flicking the one or two buds that are currently on the plant. I felt ridiculous and surprisingly a little dirty but if it works ...

My favorite A&E show, Intervention, just re-ran the episode that is right up there with my all-time favorite. While I used to think that no one could hold a candle to meth addict alcoholic Cristy from a couple of seasons back, I have fallen pretty hard for compressed air inhaling Allison from last year. Allison was a pre-med student that was in danger of permanently absolutely BAKING her brain with the chemicals in cans of computer duster. She crazily huffed up to 10 cans a day and then spent the bulk of the episode staring cross-eyed into the camera mourning her "painful" over-privileged childhood. Someone thoughtfully created a video. -via World of Wonder

Here and There

I had to show you what is going on in my kitchen "farm". The potted tomato plant that I bought a couple of months ago has grown like crazy. The plant itself is as big or bigger than many I've seen in a lot of gardens. I couldn't even get the height all captured in this snapshot. Remarkably, for such an enormous plant, It's only sprouted that one tiny tomato. It is ripe and ready for pickin' but it is only about the size of a golf ball. Somewhere between a cherry tomato and a Roma. And there are no other tomatoes anywhere on the plant. How hysterical will it be if I manage to grow a giant indoor tomato plant but only get that one single tomato all season?

I've been spending parts of my sunny afternoons hanging out on the Christopher St. Piers. It's a nice bike ride over there from the East side, and of course, the eye candy is top notch on any given day. This weekend it was absolutely packed with boys (and girls, and trannies) getting some vitamin D. I usually arrive around 2:30 or 3:00 and stay an hour and a half at most. Just enough time to catch a cat nap and lust after guys I'm too old for. I snapped this picture yesterday, to give you a sense of the huge crowd, but it made me a little nostalgic for the old pier.



When I first moved to NYC the Christopher St. Pier was still in a horrible state of decay. The end of it, deemed unsafe, was blocked off with fence and concrete barricades. Many gay men simply pried open the fence and hopped the barricades to claim a section of tar beach that faced an equally run-down Jersey City. While it was certainly not official policy, the end of the pier was clothing optional. I never dared to bare all at the time, but I would frequently simply show up and strip off whatever I was wearing down to my underwear. It felt modest compared to the avowed nudists who were always nearby. Occasionally, you'd encounter someone that would take advantage of the (relative) privacy to lazily spend the afternoon masturbating as the boats sailed by. I was never sure if it was self-gratification or advertising. Probably both.

And while I'm not one of those cranky middle-aged queens that constantly longs to recapture the days gone by and rail against (unavoidable) progress, I do on occasion miss that broken down, graffiti covered oasis of neglect. Like my lost (and wasted) youth, never to return, and probably best forgotten.

Pretty Pictures

I've been noodling around with my Flickr page, uploading photos and editing what was already posted. I created a couple of albums so you can check out my Botanic Garden photos, photos from this years Gay Pride parade, as well as some personal and family photos. Many of them have already been posted on this blog but a few are brand new if you want to have a look.

Here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tommyrico/

I'm off to the gym and the Greenmarket.

The Hits Just Keep On Comin'

I knew I was in trouble right after the interview began. I was contacted by the GM of an East side bar/restaurant, asking if I would like to interview for a job. It's a pretty busy place with a very busy bar crowd and a rooftop bar that opens in the summer. They play pop music really loud and have four or five GIANT screen TV's to broadcast big sports events or regular season games. Every time I've walked or biked by there they are usually pretty busy. Seemed right up my alley, so I quickly accepted an appointment for 6:00 yesterday. I arrived 5 minutes early and was escorted to a cocktail table inside at the end of the bar. I was glad I hadn't biked up as I thought of doing as it had turned oppressively hot and even in a polo shirt and khakis, I was sweating from the 10 block walk.

After cooling my heels for almost 20 minutes the manager that contacted me finally arrived. After we exchanged hellos and handshakes she opened with:

"How can I help you?"

I know I registered a little surprise but I explained that we had an interview apppointment.

"I see. Did you bring a resume?"

I had. But it was very clear to me that she had no idea who I was, she was not at all prepared to meet with me, indeed she didn't seem the least bit interested in interviewing me about the job. Instead she explained that they had started their busy season, with the rooftop bar being open, and were stretched thin and looking for help. She explained the hours and the insulting rate of pay and asked if I had any questions.

I asked when they were looking to hire and she nonchalantly said not for two weeks or so, which would put the new job starting in August. I'm assuming that their rooftop opened sometime around Memorial Day if not sooner.

I said I had no more questions but that was a lie. I was wondering why she made an interview appointment but seemingly had no idea I was coming or when. She was the one who responded to my resume, but she didn't have a copy of the resume I emailed and she barely glanced at the one I provided, so what was the point of asking me for it again? Why are they looking for extra help for the busy season but in no particular hurry to get someone in before said season is more than half over?

At the end of the interview she apologized for the noise and explained that it was difficult to do the interview because it was such a busy time. At which point I left my final question unasked. Than why did you schedule it that way?

Oh, and thanks for completely wasting my time. BITCH!

Since I don't want to send you in to the weekend on a down note, please enjoy this bit of a chuckle courtesy of Webvet.com. I wish Riley could do this, I'd walk him uptown and have him torch that stupid bar.